Editing Sony (section)

===Game & network services===
{{main|Sony Interactive Entertainment}}
[[File:Sony_Interactive_Entertainment_San_Mateo.jpg|thumb|left|Sony Interactive Entertainment headquarters in [[San Mateo, California]] ]]

Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment) is best known for producing the popular line of [[PlayStation]] consoles. The line grew out of a failed partnership with [[Nintendo]]. Originally, Nintendo requested Sony to develop an add-on for its [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] that would play CD-ROMs. In 1991 Sony announced [[SNES-CD|the add-on]], as well as a dedicated console known as the "Play Station".<!--DO NOT CHANGE TO PLAYSTATION. There was a space in the proposed name.--> However, a disagreement over software licensing for the console caused the partnership to fall through. Sony then continued the project independently.

Launched in 1994, the [[PlayStation (console)|first PlayStation]] gained 61% of global console sales and broke Nintendo's long-standing lead in the market.<ref name="Quest">"The PlayStation Quest." Macleans 6 November 2000: 81-. ABI/INFORM Global; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 27 May 2012.</ref> Sony followed up with the [[PlayStation 2]] in 2000, which was even more successful. The console has become the [[List of best-selling game consoles|most successful]] of all time, selling over 150&nbsp;million units {{as of|2011|lc=on}}. Sony released the [[PlayStation 3]], a high-definition console, in 2006. It was the first console to use the [[Blu-ray]] format, and was considerably more expensive than the competitors [[Xbox 360]] and [[Wii]] due to the [[Cell (microprocessor)|Cell processor]].<ref name="Nakamoto" />

Early on, poor sales performance resulted in significant losses for the company, pushing it to sell the console at a [[loss leader|loss]].<ref name="Pilling">Pilling, David. "Camera Sales Raise Sonys Game." Financial Times: 23. ABI/INFORM Global. 27 July 2007. Web. 27 May 2012.</ref> The PlayStation 3 sold generally more poorly than its competitors in the early years of its release but managed to overtake the Xbox 360 in global sales later on.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Makuch |first=Eddie |title=PS3 overtakes Xbox 360 in worldwide shipments – Report |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/ps3-overtakes-xbox-360-in-worldwide-shipments-report-6402214 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321124342/http://uk.gamespot.com/news/ps3-overtakes-xbox-360-in-worldwide-shipments-report-6402214 |archive-date=21 March 2013 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> It later introduced the [[PlayStation Move]], an accessory that allows players to control video games using motion gestures.

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| image1            = PS2-Fat-Console-Set.jpg
| caption1          = The [[PlayStation 2]] is the [[List of best-selling game consoles|best-selling]] video game console of all time.
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| caption2          = The [[PlayStation 5]] is the current-generation video game console by Sony.
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Sony extended the brand to the portable games market in 2004 with the [[PlayStation Portable]] (PSP). The console has sold reasonably, but has taken a second place to a rival handheld, the [[Nintendo DS]]. Sony developed the [[Universal Media Disc]] (UMD) optical disc medium for use on the PlayStation Portable. Early on, the format was used for movies, but it has since lost major studio support. Sony released a disc-less version of its PlayStation Portable, the [[PlayStation Portable#PSP Go (N1000)|PSP Go]], in 2009. The company went on to release its second portable video game system, [[PlayStation Vita]], in 2011 and 2012. Sony launched its fourth console, the [[PlayStation 4]], on 15 November 2013, which as of 31 December 2017 has sold 73.6&nbsp;million units globally.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=PLAYSTATION 4 SELLS 5.9 MILLION UNITS WORLDWIDE DURING THE 2017 HOLIDAY SEASON |date=8 January 2018 |publisher=Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. |location=San Mateo |url=http://www.sie.com/en/corporate/release/2018/180109.html |access-date=16 April 2018 |via=sie.com |archive-date=2018-01-10  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110052815/https://www.sie.com/en/corporate/release/2018/180109.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 18 March 2014, at [[Game Developers Conference|GDC]], president of [[SCE Worldwide Studios]] [[Shuhei Yoshida]] announced their new virtual reality technology dubbed Project Morpheus, and later named [[PlayStation VR]], for PlayStation 4. The headset brought VR gaming and non-gaming software to the company's console. According to a report released by Houston-based patent consulting firm [[LexInnova Technologies|LexInnova]] in May 2015, Sony is leading the virtual reality patent race. According to the firm's analysis of nearly 12,000 patents or patent applications, Sony has 366 virtual reality patents or patent applications.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony leads virtual reality patent race |url=http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2015/05/sony-leads-virtual-reality-patent-race/ |website=hypergridbusiness.com |date=13 May 2015 |access-date=2015-07-03  |archive-date=2020-10-27  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027130546/https://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2015/05/sony-leads-virtual-reality-patent-race/ |url-status=live }}</ref> PlayStation VR was released worldwide on 13 October 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Layden |first=Shawn |date=13 October 2016 |title=PlayStation VR Launches Today Across the United States and Canada |url=http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/10/13/playstation-vr-launches-today-across-the-united-states-and-canada/ |access-date=2017-01-24  |archive-date=2019-03-08  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308015250/https://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/10/13/playstation-vr-launches-today-across-the-united-states-and-canada/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 31 March 2019, the successor to the PlayStation 4 was announced and on 12 November 2020, the [[PlayStation 5]] was released in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The console was launched in Indonesia on 22 January 2021. Upon completion of the fiscal quarter, Sony sold 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles, keeping pace with the best-selling console of all time, the PlayStation 2.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.laptopmag.com/news/ps5-sales-figures-revealed-and-they-are-staggering |title=PS5 sales figures revealed — and they are staggering |work=Laptop Magazine |last=Murphy |first=Darragh |date=3 February 2021 |access-date=17 August 2021 |archive-date=2021-03-08  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308030202/https://www.laptopmag.com/news/ps5-sales-figures-revealed-and-they-are-staggering |url-status=live }}</ref>